Chris Waller’s dual Oaks winning mare Egg Tart sits at the top of the nominations for the Group 2 $200,000 Bradford Access Insulation P.J. O’Shea Stakes (2200m) at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday.
Egg Tart, above in red and green colours, is among the nominations for the 2018 P.J. O’Shea Stakes at the Sunshine Coast. Photo by Jenny Barnes.
The weight for age P.J. O’Shea Stakes is being run at the Sunshine Coast this year in a revamped Queensland Winter Racing Carnival because of the ongoing renovations of the Eagle Farm track.
Eleven horses have been nominated for the P.J. O’Shea Stakes with Egg Tart being joined by stablemate One Foot In Heaven.
Egg Tart is coming off a last start second to stablemate Comin’ Through in the Group 1 $650,000 Hardy Brothers Doomben Cup (2000m) at Doomben on May 19 which was her best effort since claiming two Oaks trophies during the her three year old season.
Egg Tart was the winner of the 2017 Group 1 $500,000 Schweppes Oaks (registered as Australasian Oaks) (2000m) at Morphettville before winning the Group 1 $500,000 Treasury Brisbane Queensland Oaks (2200m) at Doomben twelve months ago but has not won a race since.
Another good performance in the P.J. O’Shea Stakes on the back of her second placing in the Doomben Cup will give Waller plenty of confidence about Egg Tart heading to the 2018 Spring Carnival with the Group 1 $3.15m Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield in October high on the agenda.
“It was the first time this campaign she had got out to somewhere near the 2200 metres of the Queensland Oaks,” Waller told AAP.
“If she races well I will start looking at whether she can measure up to the Caulfield Cup in the spring.”
Victoria’s leading trainer Darren Weir also has two nominations for the P.J. O’Shea Stakes, Gallic Chieftain and Tradesman.
Gallic Chieftain made it two wins on the trots with a victory in the Listed $200,000 Warrnambool Cup (2350m) at Warrnambool on May 3 but was then well beaten when tenth to Rising Red in the Group 3 $125,000 Channel Seven Premier’s Cup (2200m) at Doomben on May 26.
Tradesman was also a winner at the Warrnambool Carnival in the Open Handicap over 1700m before finishing ninth in the Doomben Cup.
Kiwi stayer Megablast is also nominated for the P.J. O’Shea Stakes and prior to finishing sixth in the Group 3 $125,000 Ascot Green Chairman’s Handicap (2000m) at Doomben on May 12 won the Group 2 NZ$100,000 Easter Handicap (1600m) at Pukekohe in New Zealand on April 21.
Nominations for the 2018 P.J. O’Shea Stakes (2200m)
| # | Last 10 | Horse | Sex | Age | Trainer | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x270x40052 | EGG TART | M | 4 | Chris Waller | 107 |
| 2 | 3×36143110 | GALLIC CHIEFTAIN (FR) | H | 5 | Darren Weir | 103 |
| 3 | 2170×13545 | ICON OF DUBAI | C | 3 | Peter & Paul Snowden | 75 |
| 4 | 1322310305 | KAHARAU | G | 6 | Kenny Rae | 96 |
| 5 | 3314×21838 | KARAVALI (NZ) | M | 4 | Kris Lees | – |
| 6 | 2266×45530 | MAN OF HIS WORD | G | 5 | Bruce Hill | 98 |
| 7 | 618x52x185 | MARABEL | M | 4 | Wendy Roche | – |
| 8 | 28x1948x16 | MEGABLAST (NZ) | G | 6 | Nigel Tiley | 100 |
| 9 | x72x203x60 | ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN (IRE) | R | 6 | Chris Waller | 107 |
| 10 | 4277×32932 | SMART AS YOU THINK | M | 4 | John McArdle | – |
| 11 | 0x374x4419 | TRADESMAN | G | 6 | Darren Weir | 94 |
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